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The First Five Official Dwarf Planets

March 4, 2016

Written byCuriosity Staff

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Four of the five dwarf planets reside in the cold region of the solar system beyond Neptune's orbit. Of these, Pluto was the only one to be demoted from full planet to dwarf planet, a decision that became official on August 24, 2006. Eris is slightly larger than Pluto, and farther away from the sun. Makemake is thought to be the third-largest dwarf planet (after Eris and Pluto). Haumea's claim to fame is its shape: it looks like an American football, and spins at a dizzying pace, completing a full rotation in under four hours. Finally, there's Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt. Its mass actually accounts for a full third of the belt's mass!